Developments

It’s raining tech unicorns in India

India’s tech unicorn ecosystem is the third-largest in the world, behind only the US and China. Currently, the country boasts 48 tech unicorns with a combined valuation of $137bn. The Indian unicorn ecosystem has demonstrated resilience during the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, there were just eight new tech unicorn formations but 2021 has broken all records, with 27 startups achieving unicorn status so far this year. In October alone five startups become unicorns. The country is also home to two decacorns (unicorns valued ≥$10bn) Byju’s and Paytm. “With a population of 1.3 billion and a smartphone penetration of 45%, India is one of the cheapest countries for mobile Internet worldwide. Digital adoption received a further boost from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The tech startups are the biggest beneficiaries of this trend. Internet-driven themes such as e-commerce, fintech, and edtech saw strong growth amid the pandemic. Currently, 22 Indian unicorns operate in e-commerce, which is the top theme. These e-commerce unicorns are together worth a total of $52bn. Fintech is the next big theme with nine unicorns, which have an aggregate valuation of $35bn; followed by edtech with five unicorns, which are collectively worth $25bn. Cure Fit, Dunzo, Fresh to Home, Mamaearth, Xpressbees, Acko, Lendingkart, Practo, and Uable will achieve unicorn status soon. After Zomato’s successful initial public offering (IPO) on the Indian stock market, there is a crowded IPO pipeline. Paytm, Byju’s, Paytm, Oyo Rooms, Ola Cabs, and Policybazaar, Lenskart, Delhivery, Nykaa are the next big ones to watch.

Exel Composites, Kineco Group announce joint venture in Goa

A joint venture between the Kineco Group and Exel Composites creates a new composites design, engineering, and production company focused on serving the Indian market with pultruded composite solutions. The joint venture brings together two well-known names in the composites industries, Exel Composites and The Kineco Group, creating a new company called Kineco Exel Composites India (kinecoexel.com). The company and its manufacturing facility are based in Goa, India and will offer pultruded composites for markets as diverse as transportation, wind power, infrastructure, telecommunications, aerospace and defense. The Kineco Group, also headquartered in Goa, was founded in 1995 and offers a range of advanced composite products and integrated systems, and is known for its capabilities and quality, as well as its composite design know-how. Exel, founded in 1960 in Finland, is today the world’s largest pultruder; the joint venture is the latest step in the company’s global growth strategy. “Kineco has excellent brand recognition in India, and together with our pultrusion expertise we are starting from a very strong position,” says Olli Tevä, SVP Sales and Marketing at Exel Composites. “This joint venture provides immediate access into the Indian market which shows clear growth potential and demand. India has been a focus of ours for a while, and now with this ‘in India, with India, for India’ capability the team at Kineco Exel Composites India can begin to reach out to prospective customers in the joint venture’s focus market segments.” “Kineco is happy to be the partner of choice for a leading global company such as Exel, who has decided to invest in India,” says Shekhar Sardessai, Founder and Managing Director of Kineco Group and Managing Director of Kineco Exel Composites India. “Exel’s technological expertise and composites know-how, particularly in pultrusion, will enable us to bring our own, more recent pultrusion […]

BlueBotics and Planet T & S to grow Thai AGV market

BlueBotics, the global reference in natural navigation for automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), has expanded its Asian footprint by signing a new distribution agreement with Thai factory automation specialist Planet T& s Co Ltd. Prior to entering into this distribution partnership, Planet T & S was a navigation customer of BlueBotics. As a result, the company has developed several ANT-driven AGVs, which it now sells into the Thai market. Found in 1997 in Bangkok, Thailand, Planet T & S. is a leading automation technology service provider whose aim is to help Thai businesses lower costs, reduce defects and increase efficiency with technology products and engineering solutions. The company has over five years of AGV experience and has commissioned more than 80 vehicles across Thailand to date. The new partnership between BlueBotics and Planet T & S is the fourth such Asian agreement that BlueBotics has signed in the past three years. The company previously signed distribution deals with MacPion in Korea, Altech Co. Ltd. in Japan, and Shanghai TONGPU Electronics Co. Ltd. in China. BlueBotics is the reference in natural navigation and has the mission to help companies meet the challenge of vehicle automation. With its 20 years of industry experience, the company provides the autonomous navigation technology (ANT) and expert support customers need to bring their AGV, automated forklift or mobile robot successfully to market.

China could surprise the world at Glasgow climate talks

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore is hopeful China and the United States will set aside their differences at U.N. climate change talks in Glasgow, just as they came together in 2015 to help hammer out the Paris Agreement. Speaking in an interview broadcast on Monday at the Reuters Impact conference, Gore also said China could surprise the world by bringing forward one or both of its targets for reaching peak emissions and becoming carbon neutral. Gore said frictions between China and the United States, the world’s top two greenhouse gas polluters, had to be taken into account. Beijing and Washington have clashed over alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong, as well as military activity in the South China Sea. But Gore, who shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on informing the world about climate change, held out hope that tensions between the two could ease at the U.N. COP26 talks in Glasgow, Scotland, which start on Oct. 31. “It’s true that in the earlier part of this year … it didn’t seem as if the stars were aligned,” he said. “Since then, we have seen a welcome pledge from (President) Xi Jinping at the U.N. General Assembly, announcing that China will halt its financing of overseas coal plants.” Xi announced last month that China would stop building new coal-fired power plants overseas after similar pledges by Japan and South Korea earlier this year. U.S. climate envoy John Kerry had urged China to follow their lead. Ahead of COP26, global business leaders and politicians are taking part in the Reuters Impact conference to discuss efforts to mitigate climate change and drive sustainable growth. Gore said he believes Xi could pull forward one or both of the climate targets that he set at last year’s U.N. General […]

Xinhua Silk Road: China Zoomlion speeds up development

The “smart industry city” project by Hunan-based Zoomlion Heavy Industry Science & Technology Co., Ltd. on Friday took off in full swing with the headquarters building, the engineering crane machinery manufacturing park, the concrete pumping machinery park, and the aerial-work machinery park kicking off construction. China Zoomlion held a ceremony on September 17, kicking off construction on the headquarters building, the hoisting machinery park, the concrete pumping machinery park, and the aerial-work machinery park of its “smart industry city” project. Eyeing for a global construction machinery cluster, the smart industry city project is expected to generate some 100 billion yuan of output value annually when put into function. The project will gear Changsha City with a high-end smart manufacturing namecard and a highland for advanced manufacturing base, said Changsha mayor Zheng Jianxin. Looking ahead, Zoomlion will accelerate intelligent and green transformation and cluster development to further contribute to building Changsha City a “capital for construction machinery”, said Zoomlion chairman Zhan Chunxin. The project mainly consists of four parks with the excavating machinery park already in operation. Annual output value of the four parks is planned to range 20-30 billion yuan each, according to Zoomlion vice president Fu Ling, noting that the project is expected to become the world’s largest construction machinery intelligent manufacturing park when completed. It is noted that more than 260 robots, 57 intelligent production lines and four “dark factories” are planned for the engineering crane machinery park. For the concrete pumping machinery park, visual recognition, AI decision-making, laser scanning, and 3D modeling will be in place to gear 32 intelligent production lines for welding, machining, painting, and assembly. For aerial-work machinery manufacturing park, 620 sets of automation equipments are planned with 27 intelligent production lines. Efficiency is another keyword, with the project expected to witness […]

Jet Aviation gains Aerospace Standards EN 9110 Certification in Singapore

Jet Aviation’s maintenance facility in Singapore has been awarded Aerospace Standards (AS/EN) EN 9110 certification in recognition of its quality management system. AS/EN certifications are based on ISO 9001 quality standards adapted for the aviation, space and defence (ASD) industry. Following Basel’s certification in January 2018, this is the company’s second MRO site to achieve this internationally recognized industry standard. Developed by the International Aerospace Quality Group (IAQG), AS/EN 9110 certification is the quality standard for repair stations, including criteria critical to the maintenance of commercial, private, and military aircraft. The only organisations eligible for this certification are those whose primary business focus is in supporting MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) and CAMO (continuing airworthiness management organisation) services for civil and military aviation products of Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM). “This certification is a significant testament to our ongoing commitment to the highest industry standards and best practices,” said Louis Leong, Jet Aviation’s VP South-East Asia and GM of Singapore. “As part of the certification process, we participated in a series of demanding, independent audits by Bureau Veritas to establish our focus on continuous improvement and service excellence — from our documentation processes that improve output consistencies and our quality monitoring procedures for early defect detection and rectification, to the regular review of practices to identify obsolete or inefficient processes and our general rigor regarding proper documentation and maintenance procedures. AS/EN 9110 certification is a great achievement for Singapore, and a great credit to our team.” Located at Singapore’s Seletar Airport, Jet Aviation’s maintenance facility in Singapore is a Factory Authorised Service Center and Warranty Repair Facility for a wide range of aircraft types and models, including Gulfstream, Embraer, Daher-Socata and Boeing Business Jets. It is also the designated Maintenance Response Team for Pratt & Whitney Canada 307 and 308 series […]

Red Roulette

An Insider’s Story of Wealth, Power, Corruption and Vengeance in Today’s China In the headline-making and bestselling tradition of Bill Browder’s Red Notice comes a riveting memoir from a man who rose within the ranks of China’s ultra-rich only to see his business partner-wife mysteriously disappeared. After the Communist Revolution, Desmond Shum’s grandfather, a lawyer, had one chance to leave China, and instead chose to stay. The government shut down his law firm and seized his house. Officials marked his family as belonging to a ‘black category’ that included former landlords and rich peasants, meaning the Shums would be stigmatised and impoverished. As Desmond was growing up, he vowed his life would be different. Through hard work and sheer tenacity Shum went to college in America and returned to China to make his name in business. There, he met his future wife, the highly intelligent and equally ambitious Whitney Duan. Whitney and Desmond formed an effective team and, powered by a set of relationships they formed with top members of the Red Aristocracy, vaulted into China’s billionaire class. Soon they were developing the massive air cargo facility at Beijing International Airport, and they followed that by developing one of Beijing’s premier hotels. They were dazzlingly successful, travelling in private jets, funding multi-million-dollar buildings and endowments, and purchasing expensive homes, vehicles and artwork. But in 2017, their fates diverged irrevocably when Desmond, while residing overseas with his son, learned that his now ex-wife Whitney had been disappeared – consigned to some unknown fate – along with three co-workers. In Red Roulette Desmond Shum pulls back the curtain on China’s ruling elite and tells the story of a remarkable woman who rose to prominence in a strongly patriarchal society. Written from a desire to reveal the real truth of what is happening inside China’s wealth-making machine, this eye-opening tale […]

Metallography and Failure Analysis

By George Vander Voort, Metallurgist & Exclusive Consultant to Buehler Tuesday, September 28, 9:30am CST Buehler is sponsoring a webinar “Metallography and Failure Analysis” on September, 28, 2021, 9:30am CST (China Standard Time or 8.30 pm CDT). George Vander Voort, exclusive consultant to Buehler, will present this educational webinar. Failure analysis consists of studies to determine why a component failed in service. Registration is complimentary and recordings will be available. The 9-11 attack of the World Trade Center buildings 1, 2 and 7, and the 1979 failure of the Three Mile Island Unit 2 nuclear reactor are classic examples of failures that required an analysis on what happened to the materials during very serious failures. Metallographers are brought in to analyse and identify what caused the problems and how they can be dealt with to stop the problem and any potential further damage and also to determine what can be done to prevent future problems. With more than 50 years of experience in metallography and failure analysis, George will discuss fundamental principles of performing a failure analysis, as well as utilising metallographic techniques to investigate failures and determine why they occurred and how they can be prevented. Practical examples of the use of light optical and electron microscopy will be demonstrated through examples of failed specimens with a variety of case histories and studies, including: Ductile and brittle fracture surfaces and how to recognize them Fatigue fracture types Failure due to corrosion Failures caused by microstructural changes Failures due to embrittlement Highlight common problems Discuss key techniques to ensure success A live question and answer session will follow the presentation. The webinar is ideal for metallurgists, metallographers and specimen preparation technicians, new engineers, quality control and laboratory personnel in any metallography facility new to the area or looking for […]

Automation: The future of logistics companies in Asia Pacific

-Aik Jin, Tan, Vertical Solutions Lead, Zebra Technologies Asia Pacific In recent years, Asia Pacific (APAC) has seen a rapid growth in e-commerce adoption, but the pandemic has undoubtedly accelerated digital transformation, leading to an even bigger surge in e-commerce. Between 2020 and 2025, the Asia market is estimated to account for 57% of the growth of the global e-commerce logistics market1. As more consumers switch to online delivery platforms, click-and-collect models, and curbside collections, supply chains are being challenged to adapt quickly. Though container shortages, shipment delays2 and the growing demand for air cargo demand in Asia3 have affected fulfillment in recent months, industry leaders are rapidly investing in technology solutions to ease these growing pains – especially automation. There are several different automation solutions that enable manufacturers, warehouse operators and logistics providers to get goods to consumers faster with greater accuracy and efficiency, and at a lower cost. And now that technological advancements are making automation solutions more accessible to companies of all sizes, it will be easier for entire supply chains to keep up with evolving consumer demands, process more orders, and expand operations, all while keeping workers safe. Automation Solutions Have Become More Scalable and Flexible Companies in APAC that are looking for new ways to meet changing business requirements are beginning to realise the importance of automation in warehouse processes. Zebra’s Intelligent Enterprise Index found that nearly half of transport & logistics (46%) and manufacturing (42%) organisations had already deployed Internet of Things (IoT) solutions on a company-wide scale by 2019. Fortunately, warehouse automation solutions have become much more scalable and flexible in recent years, delivering significantly faster returns on investments (ROI) than were previously possible, a result born from the need for innovative technologies that could be rapidly deployed. Necessity is truly the mother […]

Online workshop on carbon capture open for registration

Infocus International Group has released a brand new online workshop – Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) and it will be commencing live on 8 November 2021. This course is intended for those in business, commercial and strategically focused roles within the energy sector; in particular those responsible for environmental matters, business sustainability and business transformation in areas such as oil & gas, hydrogen and industrial energy usage. Attendees will leave with a clearly explained and independent perspective on how, where and why CCUS is happening now and could grow in future – covering the range of technological solutions and business drivers, including policy. In addition to reviewing existing CCUS approaches, the course will highlight new opportunities and integrated value creation possibilities through carbon utilisation. This will include how the fate of CCUS links to other aspects of the clean energy transition, such as clean hydrogen production, industrial decarbonisation and the transition away from oil & gas. Benefits of Attending – Understand the most challenging aspects of the clean energy transition & the role of CCUS in addressing them– Examine the various technological aspects of the CCUS value chain, from capture through to storage and/or utilisation pathways– Discuss the key economic and policy variables which will determine how CCUS plays out in different markets– Review up-to-date examples of projects and strategies from around the world, and evaluate the lessons from them– Learn the dynamics of the new competitive environment, including the risks of “business as usual” and the importance of industrial clusters in CCUS deployment– Identify approaches to sustainable strategic planning and new business opportunity assessment Want to learn more?Eemail emilia@infocusinternational.com or call +65 6325 0210 to obtain the event brochure. For more information, please visit https://www.infocusinternational.com/ccus .

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